Elmira, NY -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's volleyball team was back in Elmira, NY, on Saturday for another tri-match. The Panthers fell to Houghton in 5 to start the day, but came back and swept the hosts, Elmira, to close it.
Game One: Pitt-Bradford 2 - Houghton 3
In the opening game of the tri-match, the Panthers took on Houghton in a neutral-site duel. The Panthers fell behind with a 25-14 loss in set one, but quickly gained control of the match with a 20-25 win in set two and a 15-25 victory in the third. They could not close out the match, dropping set four 25-19, and then fell behind early in the deciding set, eventually falling 15-8.
The Panthes started slowly, dropping the first six points of the match, but were able to respond with four straight of their own to quickly cut into he lead. The Highlanders went on another big scoring run, opening up a 12-5 lead. After the Panthers forced three straight hitting errors, Houghon went on another long scoring run, pushing their lead to 9 at 17-8. Pitt-Bradford cut into the lead with kills but Ruby Smith, Jenna Louser, and Alycia Wilson, but Houghton closed the set with another rally, outscoring the Panthers 6-2 down the stretch to win the opening set 25-14.
In set two, the Panthers had a greatly improved start, taking an early lead. They limited the Highlanders early, and stayed in front by a few points through the first third of the set. Houghton used a three-point run to take a short lead, but after a service error, the Panthers scored 5 straight points to go back in front. Smith had three kills in the run. Pitt-Bradford answered a 3-point Houghton run with one of their own, but then saw the Highlanders trim the lead to one at 21-20. Wilson put down a kill to earn a side out, and then the Panthers rallied to close the set. Baylee Fitzsimmons recorded an ace, and then after a double block, Wilson set down another spike to win the set 25-20 and even the match at 1-1.
Houghton opened the third set with an ace; however, the Panthers jumped out in front, scoring 10 of the next 12 points. Wilson recorded two kills around a Marissa Bowman Ace, while Lillian Bentley and Ruby Smith added kills in the rally. The Panthers continued to add to their lead throughout the set, eventually pushing it to double digits with back-to-back kills by Jenna Louser and Wilson. Leading 21-10, the Panthers allowed Houghton to score four straight, but after an exchange of side outs, the Panthers closed the set at 25-15 with consecutive kills by Bentley and Wilson.
Looking to close out the match, the Panthers got off to another slow start in the 4th set, falling behind 8-3 early. The deficit grew to 8 after a Panther hitting error at 15-7, but Pitt-Bradford made a big push to even the set. Trailing 18-11, Jenna Louser led a 5-point rally with Bentley on the service line. Louser started the run with a kill, and then put down consecutive blocks and a kill to cut the lead to three. The teams exchanged errors, and then Brooke DeYoe recorded an ace to trim the lead to one. Unfortunately, the Panthers could not maintain momentum, and Houghton closed the set with a 6-1 run.
Pitt-Bradford started the deciding set with a Bentley kill, but then quickly fell behind, as Houghton scored 9 of the next 11 points. The early deficit would prove to be too great, as the Highlanders kept the Panthers from stringing any points together, and eventually won the set 15-8. Wilson had a pair of kills in the set, while Smith, Louser, and Pago all added one.
Alycia Wilson led the Panthers with 13 kills and a .243 hitting percentage. She also recorded double-digit digs, finishing with 17. Jenna Louser and Ruby Smith each added 9 kills in the loss. Louser hit .273 in the match and also recorded 5 total blocks. Marissa Bowman tallied 29 assists, while Danielle Sasuga led the back line with 25 digs.
Game Two: Pitt-Bradford 3 - Elmira 0
In the nightcap, the Panthers took on the hosts, Elmira. Pitt-Bradford dominated the match, hitting .293 as a team in the 3-0 victory.
The Panthers started the match with a 25-12 win in set one, and then quickly pushed the Soaring Eagles to the brink with a 25-16 win in set two. They finished the match with a 25-14 win in set three to complete the sweep.
Pitt-Bradford came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, scoring the first five points of the match. Alycia Wilson opened the match with a kill, and then the Panthers forced Elmira into 4-straight errors. Despite a service error, the Panther rally continued as Lilly Bentley recorded three straight kills and Wilson added an Ace to put Pitt-Bradford up 9-1. Leading 12-4, a pair of Ruby Smith kills bookended another 5-point rally for Pitt-Bradford. Bentley had 2 aces in the stretch, while Louser added a kill. The hosts found some success late, trimming the lead to eleven, but an error and a Danielle Sasuga ace ended the set 25-12.
The Panthers started set two off with another run, as Wilson put down a kill and Marissa Bowman tallied a pair of aces. The Panthers stayed in front and then used a 5-point run to take control. After two errors, Bentley and Wilson put down kills, and Baylee Fitzsimmons recorded an ace to put the Panthers up 12-6. After Elmira scored 3 of 4 points, Pitt-Bradford rallied again. using runs of four, three, and three to push the Soaring Eagles to the brink. They had three aces in the run, as well as kills by Bentley and Alyssa Spang. After a triple block, the Panthers exchanged side outs, and Louser ended the set with a kill at 25-16.
In the third, Pitt-Bradford fell behind at the start, but used an 11-2 run to take control. The Panther rally included aces from Sasuga and Brooke DeYoe, along with five kills. Leading 14-7, the Panthers scored 8 straight points to push their advantage to 15. Louser started the rally with a kill, and then the Panthers used a pair of Wilson kills, a spike from Spang, and a Fitzsimmons ace. The hosts made one final push, going on a 7-2 run to cut the Panther lead to 10, but the rally and match ended with a DeYoe kill at 25-14.
Alycia Wilson once again led the Panthers with 10 kills. She hit .450 in the match and also had 3 aces. Lillian Bentley tallied 8 kills in the win with a .368 hit percentage, while Jenna Louser and Ruby Smith each finished with 6 kills. Marissa Bowman dished out 26 assists, while Danielle Sasuga led the team with 8 digs and 3 aces.
The split puts the Panthers at 13-6 on the season. They will have one more midweek tuneup at Penn State-DuBois before beginning AMCC play next weekend. They will take on Penn State-DuBois on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
